Context sensitive active fields in user interface

ABSTRACT

A method for enabling at least one user interface display field to perform at least one action is provided. The method may include receiving a first user action associated with the at least one user interface display field. The method may further include activating the at least one user interface display field in response to the received first user action. Additionally, the method may include determining a context associated with the activated at least one user interface display field. The method may also include applying the determined context associated with the activated at least one user interface display. The method may further include receiving a second user action associated with the activated at least one user interface display field based on the applied determined context. The method may also include executing the received second user action.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of computing, andmore specifically, to user interfaces.

Generally, user interfaces may include controls to enable users toperform different actions. For example, the user interface for an emailapplication may include user interface controls such as “new”, “reply”,and “forward” to initiate emails. Furthermore, the user interface forthe email application may include user interface display fields such as“recipient/sender”, “subject”, “date/time”, “description”. For example,in an email application, users may initiate and add meetings to users'calendars, whereby the user interface display fields for the calendarmeeting may include the date and time, the recipients/invitees, and thesubject/description of the meeting. Also, for example, in an emailapplication, users may view received emails in a list view whereby usersmay view user interface display fields such as the sender, the subject,and the time and date of each email.

SUMMARY

A method for enabling at least one user interface display field toperform at least one action is provided. The method may includereceiving a first user action associated with the at least one userinterface display field. The method may further include activating theat least one user interface display field in response to the receivedfirst user action. Additionally, the method may include determining acontext associated with the activated at least one user interfacedisplay field. The method may also include applying the determinedcontext associated with the activated at least one user interfacedisplay. The method may further include receiving a second user actionassociated with the activated at least one user interface display fieldbased on the applied determined context. The method may also includeexecuting the received second user action.

A computer system for enabling at least one user interface display fieldto perform at least one action is provided. The computer system mayinclude one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories,one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices, and programinstructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devicesfor execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at leastone of the one or more memories, whereby the computer system is capableof performing a method. The method may include receiving a first useraction associated with the at least one user interface display field.The method may further include activating the at least one userinterface display field in response to the received first user action.Additionally, the method may include determining a context associatedwith the activated at least one user interface display field. The methodmay also include applying the determined context associated with theactivated at least one user interface display. The method may furtherinclude receiving a second user action associated with the activated atleast one user interface display field based on the applied determinedcontext. The method may also include executing the received second useraction.

A computer program product for enabling at least one user interfacedisplay field to perform at least one action is provided. The computerprogram product may include one or more computer-readable storagedevices and program instructions stored on at least one of the one ormore tangible storage devices, the program instructions executable by aprocessor. The computer program product may include program instructionsto receive a first user action associated with the at least one userinterface display field. The computer program product may also includeprogram instructions to activate the at least one user interface displayfield in response to the received first user action. The computerprogram product may further include program instructions to determine acontext associated with the activated at least one user interfacedisplay field. Additionally, the computer program product may includeprogram instructions to apply the determined context associated with theactivated at least one user interface display. The computer programproduct may also include program instructions to receive a second useraction associated with the activated at least one user interface displayfield based on the applied determined context. The computer programproduct may further include program instructions to executing thereceived second user action.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings. The various features of the drawings arenot to scale as the illustrations are for clarity in facilitating oneskilled in the art in understanding the invention in conjunction withthe detailed description. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked computer environment according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 2 is an example of an activated user interface display fieldassociated with an email view context of an email application accordingto one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an example of an activated user interface display fieldassociated with a calendar view context of an email application;

FIG. 4 is an example of an activated user interface display fieldassociated with a calendar view context of an email application;

FIG. 5 is an example of an activated user interface display fieldassociated with a “to do” view context of an email application;

FIG. 6 is an operational flowchart illustrating the steps carried out bya program for enabling at least one user interface display field toperform at least one action according to one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the system architecture of a program forenabling at least one user interface display field to perform at leastone action according to one embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an illustrative cloud computing environmentincluding the computer system depicted in FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of functional layers of the illustrative cloudcomputing environment of FIG. 8, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the claimed structures and methods are disclosedherein; however, it can be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely illustrative of the claimed structures and methods that may beembodied in various forms. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theexemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplaryembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of this invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the description, details of well-known featuresand techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresented embodiments.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the field ofcomputing, and more particularly, to user interfaces. The followingdescribed exemplary embodiments provide a system, method and programproduct for enabling user interface display fields to perform actionsbased on user interaction. Therefore, the present embodiment has thecapacity to improve the technical field associated with user interfacesby converting user interface display fields to active user interfacedisplay fields to enable users to perform actions. Specifically, thepresent embodiment may enable users to perform specific actions byhovering over user interface display fields based on the contextassociated with the user interface display field.

As previously described, a user interface for an email application mayinclude user interface display fields such as “recipient/sender”,“subject”, “date/time”, “description”. For example, users may receiveemails whereby users may view user interface display fields associatedwith the received emails such as the sender, the subject, and the timeand date of each email. Typically, to perform an action such asforwarding the email to other users, the user/recipient of the emailclicks on a forwarding button atop the user interface of the emailapplication that changes the user recipient's view page from a listemails view to a message view. Therefore, to perform certain actionsassociated with applications such as an email, a calendar, and a “to do”list application, users may lose the view associated with a firstcontext to a view associated with a different second context. Forexample, a user may view a list of meetings associated with the user'scalendar in a calendar meetings view, whereby user interface displayfields such as the location, date and time of the meetings aredisplayed. Typically, the user may edit the user interface displayfields, such as the time for the meeting, by opening a specific calendarmeeting in an editing view and thereby changing the context of theuser's view from a calendar meetings view to the editing view.Therefore, the number of steps to complete such actions as editing thetime for meetings are increased and users may lose the context of a viewpage to a different view page. As such, it may be advantageous, amongother things, to provide a system, method and program product forenabling user interface display fields to perform actions based on userinteraction with the user interface display fields. Specifically, usersmay be enabled to perform actions by hovering over user interfacedisplay fields based on the context associated with the user interfacedisplay field.

According to at least one implementation of the present embodiment, useractions associated with user interface display fields may be received.Then, the user interface display fields may be activated. Next, at leastone context associated with the activated user interface display fieldmay be determined. Then, the determined at least one context may beapplied. Next, user actions based on the determined at least one contextmay be received. Thereafter, the received user actions associated withthe determined at least one context may be executed.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like,and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The following described exemplary embodiments provide a system, methodand program product for enabling user interface display fields toperform actions based on user interaction.

According to at least one implementation, user actions associated withuser interface display fields may be received. Then, based on thereceived user action, the user interface display fields may beactivated. Next, at least one context associated with the activated userinterface display field may be determined. Then, the determined at leastone context may be applied. Next, user actions based on the determinedat least one context may be received. Thereafter, the received useractions associated with the determined at least one context may beexecuted.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary networked computer environment 100in accordance with one embodiment is depicted. The networked computerenvironment 100 may include a computer 102 with a processor 104 and adata storage device 106 that is enabled to run a user interface activefield program 108A and a software program 114. The software program 114may be an application program such as an internet browser and an emailprogram. The user interface active field program 108A may communicatewith the software program 114. The networked computer environment 100may also include a server 112 that is enabled to run a user interfaceactive field program 108B and a communication network 110. The networkedcomputer environment 100 may include a plurality of computers 102 andservers 112, only one of which is shown for illustrative brevity.

According to at least one implementation, the present embodiment mayalso include a database 116, which may be running on server 112. Thecommunication network may include various types of communicationnetworks, such as a wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), atelecommunication network, a wireless network, a public switched networkand/or a satellite network. It may be appreciated that FIG. 1 providesonly an illustration of one implementation and does not imply anylimitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

The client computer 102 may communicate with server computer 112 via thecommunications network 110. The communications network 110 may includeconnections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber opticcables. As will be discussed with reference to FIG. 7, server computer112 may include internal components 800 a and external components 900 a,respectively and client computer 102 may include internal components 800b and external components 900 b, respectively. Server computer 112 mayalso operate in a cloud computing service model, such as Software as aService (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), or Infrastructure as aService (IaaS). Server 112 may also be located in a cloud computingdeployment model, such as a private cloud, community cloud, publiccloud, or hybrid cloud. Client computer 102 may be, for example, amobile device, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, a netbook, alaptop computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, or any type ofcomputing device capable of running a program and accessing a network.According to various implementations of the present embodiment, the userinterface active field program 108A, 108B may interact with a database116 that may be embedded in various storage devices, such as, but notlimited to a mobile device 102, a networked server 112, or a cloudstorage service.

According to the present embodiment, a program, such as a user interfaceactive field program 108A and 108B may run on the client computer 102 oron the server computer 112 via a communications network 110. The userinterface active field program 108A, 108B may enable user interfacedisplay fields to perform actions based on user interaction.Specifically, a user using a computer, such as computer 102, may run auser interface active field program 108A, 108B, that interacts with asoftware program 114, such as an email application, to perform actionsusing user interface display fields based on the context associated withthe user interface display fields.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an example of an activated user interfacedisplay field 202 associated with an email view context 200 of an emailapplication according to one embodiment is depicted. As previouslydescribed in FIG. 1, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable users to perform actions using user interfacedisplay fields based on the context associated with the user interfacedisplay fields. For example, an email application may include an emailview context 200 whereby users may view received emails, and whereby thereceived emails may include user interface display fields such as thesender name, the subject, and the date and time of the received emails(not shown). Furthermore, the user interface active field program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to perform actions such as forwardingreceived emails to users while maintaining the email view context 200.

Specifically, using the email view context 200, the user interfaceactive field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to forwardreceived emails using activated user interface display fields 202. Morespecifically, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable users to forward emails by receiving a user actionon a user interface display field that is associated with a receivedemail, such as a sender's name in the “who” column 204 of the email viewcontext 200. For example, the user interface active field program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may receive a user action, such as a user using a mouse tohover over the name of the sender of an email, to thereby activate theuser interface display field. Thereafter, the user interface activefield program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may present users with a typing widget206 associated with the activated user interface display field 202 toenable users to type the names of the recipients of the forwarded email.Furthermore, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may present a drop down list of names 208 matching the recipient namestyped in by the user, and may enable users to select the recipients'names and press “enter” to forward the email.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example of an activated user interfacedisplay field 302 associated with a calendar view context 300 of anemail application is depicted. As previously described in FIGS. 1 and 2,the user interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enableusers to perform actions using user interface display fields based onthe context associated with the user interface display fields. Forexample, an email application may include a calendar view context 300whereby users may view scheduled meetings 304, and whereby the scheduledmeetings may include user interface display fields such as the meetingdescription, and the date and time 306 of the scheduled meeting 304.Furthermore, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may enable users to perform actions such as edit the date and time 306of scheduled meetings 304 while maintaining the calendar view context300.

Specifically, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable users to edit the date and time 306 of the scheduledmeetings 304 using the activated user interface display field 302. Morespecifically, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable users to edit the date and time 306 of the scheduledmeetings 304 by receiving a user action on a user interface displayfield, such as a the date and time 306 that is associated with ascheduled meeting in the calendar view context 300. For example, theuser interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive auser action, such as a user using a mouse to hover over the date andtime 306 of a scheduled meeting 304, to thereby activate the userinterface display field 302. Thereafter, the user interface active fieldprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may present users with a propose new timewidget 308 associated with the activated user interface display field302 to enable users to edit the date and time 306 of the scheduledmeeting 304.

Similarly, in FIG. 4, users may edit the location 406 of the scheduledmeetings 404 while maintaining the calendar view context 400.Specifically, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable users to edit the location 406 of the scheduledmeetings 404 by receiving a user action on a user interface displayfield, such as a the location field 406 that is associated with ascheduled meeting in the calendar view context 400. For example, theuser interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive auser action, such as a user using a mouse to hover over the location 406of a scheduled meeting 404, to thereby activate the user interfacedisplay field 402. Thereafter, the user interface active field program108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may present users with a location change widget 408associated with the activated user interface display field 402 to enableusers to edit the location 406 of the scheduled meeting 404.Furthermore, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may present a drop down list of locations 410, and may enable users toselect a location and press “enter” to edit the location 406 ofscheduled meeting 404.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an example of an activated user interfacedisplay field 502 associated with a “to do” view context 500 of an emailapplication is depicted. As previously described in FIGS. 2-4, the userinterface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users toperform actions using user interface display fields based on the contextassociated with the user interface display fields. For example, an emailapplication may include a “to do” view context 500, whereby users mayview “to do” entries 504, and whereby the “to do” entries may includeuser interface display fields such as the “to do” description 506, andthe due date 508 of the “to do” entries 504. Furthermore, the userinterface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users toperform actions such as editing the “to do” description 506 of the “todo” entries 504 while maintaining the “to do” view context 500.

Specifically, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable users to edit the “to do” subject/description 506 ofthe “to do” entries 504 using the activated user interface display field502. More specifically, the user interface active field program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to edit the “to do” subject/description506 of the “to do” entries 504 by receiving a user action on a userinterface display field that is associated with a “to do” entry 504 inthe “to do” view context 500. For example, the user interface activefield program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive a user action, such as auser using a mouse to hover over the “to do” subject/description 506 ofa “to do” entry 504, to thereby activate the user interface displayfield 502. Thereafter, the user interface active field program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may present users with an edit description widget 510associated with the activated user interface display field 502 to enableusers to edit the “to do” subject/description 506 of the “to do” entry504.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an operational flowchart 600 illustrating thesteps carried out by a program for enabling user interface displayfields to perform actions based on user interaction is depicted. At 602,the user interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receivea user action associated with a user interface display field. Aspreviously described in FIGS. 2-5, the user interface active fieldprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to perform actions such asforwarding emails (FIG. 2), editing the date and time 306 (FIG. 3) ofscheduled meetings 304 (FIG. 3), editing the location 406 (FIG. 4) ofscheduled meetings 404 (FIG. 4), and editing the “to do”subject/description 506 of “to do” entries 504 by receiving a useraction on a user interface display field. For example, the userinterface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive a useraction, such as a user using a mouse to hover over the name of thesender of an email to forward the email.

Next, at 604, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may activate the user interface display field. As previouslydescribed at step 602, the user interface active field program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may receive a user action such as a user using a mouse tohover over a user interface display field. Therefore, based on thereceived user action, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may activate the user interface display field. As such, and aspreviously described in FIGS. 2-5, the activated user interface displayfields 202 (FIG. 2), 302 (FIG. 3), 402 (FIG. 4), and 502 (FIG. 5) may beused to perform actions such as editing the content associated with theuser interface display fields based on the context of the activated userinterface display.

Then, at 606, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine the context associated with the activated userinterface display fields 202 (FIG. 2), 302 (FIG. 3), 402 (FIG. 4), and502 (FIG. 5). As previously described in FIGS. 2-5, the user interfaceactive field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to performactions based on the context associated with the user interface displayfield, and the context may include an email view context 200 (FIG. 2), acalendar context view 300, 400 (FIGS. 3 and 4), and a “to do” viewcontext 500 (FIG. 5). For example, an email context view 200 (FIG. 2)and a calendar view context 300, 400 (FIGS. 3 and 4) may both include auser interface display field such as a person field, whereby the personfield in the email view context 200 (FIG. 2) may be thesender/recipient, and the person field in the calendar view context 300,400 (FIGS. 3 and 4) may be the chair/invitee. Thus, according to oneimplementation, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may activate a user interface display field, such as a personfield, and determine whether the activated user interface display fieldis associated with an email view context 200 (FIG. 2) or a calendar viewcontext 300, 400 (FIGS. 3 and 4). As such, the user interface activefield program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine the context associatedwith the activated user interface display fields 202 (FIG. 2), 302 (FIG.3), 402 (FIG. 4), and 502 (FIG. 5) to enable users to perform theactions that are associated with the user interface display fields.

Next, at 608, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may apply the determined context. As previously described atstep 606, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may determine the context associated with the activated user interfacedisplay fields 202 (FIG. 2), 302 (FIG. 3), 402 (FIG. 4), and 502 (FIG.5). Thereafter, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may apply the determined context associated with the activateduser interface display fields 202 (FIG. 2), 302 (FIG. 3), 402 (FIG. 4),and 502 (FIG. 5). For example, and as previously described at step 606,the activated user interface display field 202 (FIG. 2) associated withthe person field in the email view context 200 (FIG. 2) may performdifferent actions compared to the person field associated with thecalendar view context 300, 400 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Specifically, the userinterface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine thatthe activated user interface display 202 (FIG. 2) associated with theperson field applies to an email view context 200 (FIG. 2) and maypresent a type widget 206 (FIG. 2) to enable users to perform suchactions as forwarding emails, whereas the user interface active fieldprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine that the activated userinterface display 302, 402 (FIGS. 3 and 4) associated with the personfield applies to a calendar view context 300, 400 (FIGS. 3 and 4) andmay present a type widget to perform such actions as editing theinvitees to scheduled meetings 304, 404 (FIGS. 3 and 4).

Then, at 610, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may receive user actions based on the applied context. Aspreviously described at step 608, the user interface active fieldprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may apply the determined context associatedwith the activated user interface display fields 202 (FIG. 2), 302 (FIG.3), 402 (FIG. 4), and 502 (FIG. 5). For example, and as previouslydescribed in FIG. 2, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine that the activated user interface display 202(FIG. 2) associated with the person field applies to an email viewcontext 200 (FIG. 2) for forwarding emails and may present a type widget206 (FIG. 2). Therefore, the user interface active field program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may receive a user action such as a user typing the namesof the recipients of an email to forward. Furthermore, the userinterface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may present a dropdown list of names 208 (FIG. 2) matching the recipient names typed in bythe user, and may enable users to select the recipients' names and press“enter” to forward the email.

Next, at 612, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may execute the received user action. As previously describedin FIGS. 2-5, the user interface active field program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable users to perform actions such as forwarding emails(FIG. 2), editing the date and time 306 (FIG. 3) of scheduled meetings304 (FIG. 3), editing the location 406 (FIG. 4) of scheduled meetings404 (FIG. 4), and editing the “to do” subject/description 506 (FIG. 5)of “to do” entries 504 (FIG. 5) by receiving a user action on a userinterface display field. For example, in the calendar view context 300(FIG. 3), the user interface active field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1)may receive a user action on the propose new time widget 308 (FIG. 3)associated with the activated user interface display field 302 (FIG. 3)of a scheduled meeting 304 (FIG. 3). Specifically, the user interfaceactive field program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive a user action suchas a user selecting a different time and/or date, and may execute theuser action by applying the new date and time selections made by theuser to the scheduled meeting 304 (FIG. 3).

It may be appreciated that FIGS. 2-6 provide only illustrations of oneimplementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to howdifferent embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted environments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram 700 of internal and external components ofcomputers depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that FIG.7 provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not implyany limitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

Data processing system 800, 900 is representative of any electronicdevice capable of executing machine-readable program instructions. Dataprocessing system 800, 900 may be representative of a smart phone, acomputer system, PDA, or other electronic devices. Examples of computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may represented bydata processing system 800, 900 include, but are not limited to,personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thickclients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems, anddistributed cloud computing environments that include any of the abovesystems or devices.

User client computer 102 (FIG. 1), and network server 112 (FIG. 1)include respective sets of internal components 800 a, b and externalcomponents 900 a, b illustrated in FIG. 7. Each of the sets of internalcomponents 800 a, b includes one or more processors 820, one or morecomputer-readable RAMs 822 and one or more computer-readable ROMs 824 onone or more buses 826, and one or more operating systems 828 and one ormore computer-readable tangible storage devices 830. The one or moreoperating systems 828, the software program 114 (FIG. 1), the userinterface active field program 108A (FIG. 1) in client computer 102(FIG. 1), and the user interface active field program 108B (FIG. 1) innetwork server computer 112 (FIG. 1) are stored on one or more of therespective computer-readable tangible storage devices 830 for executionby one or more of the respective processors 820 via one or more of therespective RAMs 822 (which typically include cache memory). In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, each of the computer-readable tangiblestorage devices 830 is a magnetic disk storage device of an internalhard drive. Alternatively, each of the computer-readable tangiblestorage devices 830 is a semiconductor storage device such as ROM 824,EPROM, flash memory or any other computer-readable tangible storagedevice that can store a computer program and digital information.

Each set of internal components 800 a, b, also includes a R/W drive orinterface 832 to read from and write to one or more portablecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 936 such as a CD-ROM, DVD,memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk orsemiconductor storage device. A software program, such as a userinterface active field program 108A and 108B (FIG. 1), can be stored onone or more of the respective portable computer-readable tangiblestorage devices 936, read via the respective R/W drive or interface 832and loaded into the respective hard drive 830.

Each set of internal components 800 a, b also includes network adaptersor interfaces 836 such as a TCP/IP adapter cards, wireless Wi-Fiinterface cards, or 3G or 4G wireless interface cards or other wired orwireless communication links. The user interface active field program108A (FIG. 1) and software program 114 (FIG. 1) in client computer 102(FIG. 1), and the user interface active field program 108B (FIG. 1) innetwork server 112 (FIG. 1) can be downloaded to client computer 102(FIG. 1) from an external computer via a network (for example, theInternet, a local area network or other, wide area network) andrespective network adapters or interfaces 836. From the network adaptersor interfaces 836, the user interface active field program 108A (FIG. 1)and software program 114 (FIG. 1) in client computer 102 (FIG. 1) andthe user interface active field program 108B (FIG. 1) in network servercomputer 112 (FIG. 1) are loaded into the respective hard drive 830. Thenetwork may comprise copper wires, optical fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers.

Each of the sets of external components 900 a, b can include a computerdisplay monitor 920, a keyboard 930, and a computer mouse 934. Externalcomponents 900 a, b can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards,touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. Each ofthe sets of internal components 800 a, b also includes device drivers840 to interface to computer display monitor 920, keyboard 930 andcomputer mouse 934. The device drivers 840, R/W drive or interface 832and network adapter or interface 836 comprise hardware and software(stored in storage device 830 and/or ROM 824).

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). Theconsumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructureincluding network, servers, operating systems, storage, or evenindividual application capabilities, with the possible exception oflimited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 8, illustrative cloud computing environment 2000is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 2000 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 100 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 2000A, desktop computer 2000B, laptopcomputer 2000C, and/or automobile computer system 2000N may communicate.Nodes 100 may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (notshown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such asPrivate, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove,or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 2000to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for whicha cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a localcomputing device. It is understood that the types of computing devices2000A-N shown in FIG. 8 are intended to be illustrative only and thatcomputing nodes 100 and cloud computing environment 2000 can communicatewith any type of computerized device over any type of network and/ornetwork addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 9, a set of functional abstraction layers 3000provided by cloud computing environment 2000 (FIG. 8) is shown. Itshould be understood in advance that the components, layers, andfunctions shown in FIG. 9 are intended to be illustrative only andembodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, thefollowing layers and corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and User Interface Active Field 96. A UserInterface Active Field Program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may be offered “as aservice in the cloud” (i.e., Software as a Service (SaaS)) forapplications running on mobile devices 102 (FIG. 1) and may provide userinterface display fields that perform different actions based on userinteraction.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for enabling at leastone user interface display field to perform at least one action,comprising: one or more computer-readable storage devices and programinstructions stored on at least one of the one or more tangible storagedevices, the program instructions executable by a processor, the programinstructions comprising: program instructions to receive a first useraction associated with the at least one user interface display field,wherein the at least one user interface display field is selected from agroup comprising at least one name in a who column of an emailapplication person header, at least one description in a descriptioncolumn of an email application subject description header, and at leastone date and time in a date and time column of an email application dateand time header, and wherein receiving the first user action comprisesreceiving a user using a pointing device to hover over the at least oneuser interface display; program instructions to activate the at leastone user interface display field in response to the pointing devicehovering over the at least one user interface display; programinstructions to determine a context associated with the activated atleast one user interface display field, wherein the context comprises atleast one of an email view context, a calendar view context, and a to dolist view context; program instructions to apply the determined contextassociated with the activated at least one user interface display,wherein applying the determined context comprises presenting at leastone of a typing widget, a propose new time widget, a location changewidget, and an edit description widget; program instructions to maintainthe determined context associated with the activated at least one userinterface display while presenting at least one of the typing widget,the propose new time widget, the location change widget, and the editdescription widget; program instructions to receive a second user actionassociated with the activated at least one user interface display fieldbased on the applied determined context, wherein receiving the seconduser action further comprises receiving at least one of at least onetyped named using the typing widget to send an email to the at least onetyped name and to schedule a meeting with the at least one typed name,at least one selected date and time using the propose new time widget toschedule a new date and a new time for a scheduled meeting, at least onetyped location using the location change widget to select a new locationfor the scheduled meeting, and a typed description using the editdescription widget to change a description of a scheduled meeting and tochange a description of a to do list; wherein in response to receivingthe at least one typed named associated with the typing widget,presenting a drop down list of a plurality of matching names; wherein inresponse to receiving the at least one typed location associated withthe location change widget, presenting a drop down list of a pluralityof matching locations; and program instructions to execute the receivedsecond user action, wherein executing the received second user actioncomprises at least one of selecting a name associated with the at leastone typed name to send an email to the selected name, selecting a nameassociated with the at least one typed name to schedule a meeting withthe selected name, selecting a date and time using the propose new timewidget to schedule the new date and the new time for the scheduledmeeting, changing the description of the scheduled meeting, and changingthe description of the to do list.